Tennessee football falls out of the top 25 post-Spring rankings.
Following spring camp and the spring transfer portal, Tennessee football fell out of the top-25 rankings on 247Sports. Following their first College Football Playoff berth since the postseason format was instituted in 2014, the Vols are coming off their greatest season under Josh Heupel.
Even though Tennessee has won 10 games in two of the previous three seasons, including 2024, 247Sports still doesn’t think the Vols will remain in its top-25 rankings following the 2024 season and 2025 spring camp. In addition to the Vols, other teams that made the top 25 were Oklahoma, Louisville, Texas A&M, BYU, Auburn, and Kansas State. According to the post-spring rankings, those six teams are ranked 25–20.
Tennessee’s prospects in 2025 appear to be questioned by 247Sports, despite the fact that the Vols will probably have the chance to win at least eight or nine games this season and finish in the top 25 once more under Heupel. Nico Iamaleava’s transfer portal loss to UCLA is most likely the cause of that. After unsuccessful NIL talks, the former five-star quarterback ripped off his connection with Tennessee, leaving the Vols without the quarterback on whom they had based their offense.
In response, Tennessee used the transfer portal to sign Joey Aguilar, a former quarterback for Appalachian State and UCLA. Consequently, a quarterback competition between Aguilar, Jake Merklinger, and George MacIntyre will continue throughout the summer. The Vols could surprise many this fall and maintain the momentum as Heupel looks to create an SEC and National Champion program if he and Tennessee can resolve the quarterback situation. The Vols still have the majority of their players available for the 2025 season on both sides of the ball.